The Black church is one of the most influential establishments in the fight for equity in this country. The narrative of slavery under the ideology of the Lost Cause states that Africans were saved from the savage life they lived in the “dark continent” and brought to the light of Christianity by benevolent masters. Yup, just picture Robert E. Lee sending his wife a letter explaining how lucky their ‘slaves’ are to have been saved by their divine intervention. Meanwhile, as the Bible was used as a weapon, (read up on the ‘slave Bible’ below) and religion became more segregated, formerly enslaved people found their own way to build community, and from this, we got the African Methodist Episcopal Chuch or the AME church and along with Black Baptist churches, a legacy of community, protest, and music were born. 

For this session, we are going to look at the role of the Black church from the days of enslavement to the Civil Rights Movement and in between. We will look at how gospel music and Movement songs were inextricably tied together and how the role of pastors and clergy as leaders of the community-led some to become some of the first Black politicians in this country. While religion can be a slippery slope for some, for this conversation, we are focusing on the role of the Church in the fight for equity and how different the Movement and even Black survival would look had Black folks not had the church to look to. 

Remember, you do not have to read all the articles to participate. Do what you can and come for the amazing conversations. 

Register in advance for this session:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAufumtqTMvE9fzcIaSdt1xryIggOEo0RFE

Articles: 

• https://time.com/5939921/henry-lous-gates-american-history-black-church/

• https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/03/the-history-and-importance-of-the-black-church/ (recommended if you can’t read others) 

• https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/godinamerica-black-church/

• https://www.npr.org/2018/12/09/674995075/slave-bible-from-the-1800s-omitted-key-passages-that-could-incite-rebellion

Short videos:

• https://kcts9.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/the-civil-rights-era-video/the-black-church/  (recommended if you can’t watch all the videos ~9 mins)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLxddvkYmic (The role of the Black church ~ 3 mins)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwWqkk4Ha70 (The Black Church overview ~ 2 mins)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGxiQMLVYss (Gospel and Civil Rights ~ 2 mins)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuBNtYGWRyU (Henry Louis Gates Jr. talking about The Black Church mini-series ~6 mins) 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvKUOuYn1-c (explanation of what the ‘slave bible’ ~ 2 mins)